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The Skinny: Capitals 3, Islanders (OT)

by
Eric Hornick
/ New York Islanders

“The Skinny”

Game 27Washington 3, Isles 2 (OT)

Alexander Ovechkin scored 2:07 into overtime as the Washington Capitals rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the final minute and defeated the Islanders 3-2 before a crowd of 14,819 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The overtime loss extends the Isles’ winless streak to six straight games (0-5-1); they are 2-10-1 in their last thirteen games.The Scoring: 1st PeriodNONE2nd Period08:58 WSH Aaron Volpatti (2) Wrist shot - ASST: Tom Wilson (3), Martin Erat (7) 1 - 0 WSH

The Skinny: Aaron Volpatti’s goal was his 5th in 91 career NHL games. Clutterbuck’s goal was the Isles’ second SH goal of the season and his first as an Islander. Clutterbuck, who scored four SHG’s two seasons ago, now has seven career shorties…Clutterbuck’s goal was the Isles’ first in 109:58…Thomas Vanek’s goal gave the Islanders a short-lived lead; it was the first time in 18 periods that the Isles had led…John Tavares earned the primary assist; he has not gone pointless in consecutive games this season… Isles have been outscored 31-17 in the third period, including 24-8 in the last 17 games… The Isles finish November with a 4-10-1 record. The Isles have not had a winning November since 2008 and are 9-23-6 in their last three Novembers (2010, 2011, and 2013…Backstrom’s shorthanded goal marked the first time since December 9-11, 2010 that the Isles have allowed shorthanded goals in consecutive games and the first time since November 26/27, 2007 that they have allowed shorties in both ends of a back-to-back. It’s the first time the Isles have scored and allowed a SH goal in the same game since March 29, 2012 vs. Pittsburgh, which was the last time prior to Friday that the Isles had allowed a shorthanded goal….The Isles have been outscored 25-11 during their six- game winless streak, which is their longest winless streak since they also had a six-game streak from October 20-November 3, 2011 (0-4-2); they have not scored a goal in the first period during this stretch…Ovechkin’s winning goal was his 11th goal in 13 games this month...Calvin deHaan appeared in his 2nd NHL game, and his first since December 15, 2011.

The Great 8:Alex Ovechkin now has 22 goals and 13 assists in 31 career games against the Isles. This was his 5th career overtime goal against the Islanders (12/16/2008, 1/19/2009, 3/1/2011, 2/28/2012 and 11/30/2013). To put that in perspective, the Islander club record for regular season overtime goals (against all opponents), is four. Ovechkin now has 14 career overtime goals; among active players only Jaromir Jagr (18) has more.Goals Per Game (career)1. Mike Bossy 0.762. Mario Lemieux 0.753. Alex Ovechkin 0.63

Ovechkin has scored 44 goals in his last 48 games.

The Shots:Isles 15-12-11-1=39Capitals 9-10-9-2=30

Home and RoadThe Islanders are 8-15-4 overall, 5-6-4 at home and 3-9-0 on the road. The Isles remain 7 games under NHL-.500 for the first time since the end of the 2010-11 season (30-39-13).The Capitals are 14-11-2 overall; they are 9-6-0 at home and 5-5-2 on the road. Washington swept their set of back-to-backs (winning once in a shootout and once in overtime), after losing four straight games. The win keeps Washington in second place in the Metropolitan Division, two points ahead of the third place Rangers.

In the NetsAnders Nilsson made 27 saves but falls to 0-1-0 on the season. Braden Holtby made 37 saves to improve to 12-8-1 on the season.

Power PlaysThe Islanders were 0-2 while the Capitals were 0-1. Both teams scored shorthanded as well. It’s the first time since March 30-April 9, 2013 (six games) that the Isles have gone three games without allowing a power play goal.The Isles are 5-3-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-12-1 when they do not. The Isles are 2-11-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-4-2 when they do not. Over the last 17 games, the Isles power play is 5-59 (8.5%) while the penalty kill is 18-50 (64.0%). During the six-game winless streak, the power play is 1-18 (and has allowed two shorthanded goals).

Three is a Magic NumberThe Isles are 8-2-2 when they score at least three goals and are 0-13-2 when they do not.

Helps to Score FirstThe Isles are 6-2-3 when they score first and are 2-13-1 when they allow the opening goal. The Isles have allowed the first goal in six straight games.

Second to The OneJack Capuano is now 2nd on the all-time Islander list in both games coached (222) and wins (92).

The Coach“It was probably one of the best third periods we had all year”

Back-to-BacksThe Isles are 3-4-0 in the front-end and 1-4-2 on the back end of back-to-backs this season.On the seven sets of back-to-backs, they have earned 4 points once, 3 points once, 2 points once, 1 point once and no points on three occasions.The next back-to-back set will be on December 9th and 10th in Anaheim and San Jose.Head of the ClassJohn Tavares has 279 career points; he is 66 points ahead of Matt Duchene for most among 2009 draft picks. No other player from that draft is anywhere close. Tavares also has more goals and more assists than any other player from that draft.

Leading Ice MenAndrew MacDonald played 26:52 to lead the Isles for the 20th time this season. John Carlson played 24:40 to lead the Caps.The Isles are 7-10-3 when MacDonald leads them in ice-time and 1-5-1 when Hamonic leads them.

In the CircleThe Islanders won 28 of 48 draws. John Tavares won 12 of 16 to lead the Isles, who won the battle of the face-off circle for the first time in 12 games. Jay Beagle won 7 of 12 for Washington.Heavy HittersThe Isles out-hit Washington 30-22. Travis Hamonic led the Isles with five hits; Matt Martin had four hits, extending his NHL-leading total to 134. There were no fights in the game, leaving the season total at eight: Martin (3), Boulton (3), and Carkner (2).

Giving Up the BodyThe Isles were credited with 16 blocked shots. Aaron Ness led the way with 4 blocks; Andrew MacDonald extended his league-leading total to 95 with two blocks.

All–time WinnersThe Islanders remain two games over all-time NHL .500 (1379-1377-443 in 3,199 games). The Isles have finished every season since 1977-78 above all-time NHL .500.

IronmenJohn Tavares is the reigning Islanders’ ironman. Tavares has now played in 234 consecutive games, which is the second-longest streak for an Islander in the Post Cup era. Frans Nielsen (157) and Kyle Okposo (140) also have streaks of at least 100 consecutive games.

Missing MenLubomir Visnovsky, Brian Strait and Evgeni Nabokov remain on injured reserve. Josh Bailey returned to the lineup, replacing Brock Nelson. Calvin deHaan made his season debut, replacing Radek Martinek. Eric Boulton was also scratched. The Isles have lost 60 games this season due to injury.

Nobody Beats the VizThe Isles were 19-12-4 last season and are 3-3-2 this season with Lubomir Visnovsky in the lineup. They were 5-5-3 last season and are 5-12-2 this season without him in the lineup.Career Goals as an Islander15 Mariusz Czerkawski 14516 Jason Blake 12717 John Tavares 12318 Duane Sutter 121Career Assists as an Islander 22 Zigmund Palffy 16323 John Tavares 15624 David Volek 15425 Mariusz Czerkawski 15026 Frans Nielsen 14827 Travis Green 145

Season Series StatsThe Capitals lead the season series two games to none (and four points to one); the teams will next meet on February 4th in Washington.The Isles are 2-0-2 in their last four home games and are 4-1-5 in their last ten games overall against the Capitals.

Happy Anniversary24 years ago tonight: November 30, 1989. In a season-changing game, Mark Fitzpatrick made 31 saves for his first career shutout as the Islanders blanked the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 at Chicago Stadium. Alan Kerr and Hubie McDonough, the latter in his Isles debut, scored the goals for the IslandersOverall, the Isles are 7-10-3 on this date, although they are 0-5-1 since beating Ottawa in 1995.

On The FarmNick Larson scored two goals and was a +4, but Bridgeport dropped an 8-6 decision in Albany. Matt Donovan had two points for the second straight game and was a +2. The Sound Tigers return home to host Manchester on Sunday.Mike Halmo and Anders Lee lead Bridgeport with seven goals; Ryan Strome leads in both assists (16) and points (22). Strome leads all AHL rookies in assists and is 2nd in points.

The Isles conclude the homestand as they meet the Penguins for the third time this season. Both of the first two games were played in Pittsburgh with each team earning a 4-3 victory on a goal in the 59th minute of regulation (Josh Bailey for the Isles; Sidney Crosby for the Penguins).

This will be Pittsburgh’s first trip to the Coliseum since they eliminated the Isles from the playoffs on a Brooks Orpik overtime goal. The Penguins both regular season games at the Coliseum last season, but the Isles are 5-4-3 in their 12 home games against Pittsburgh.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 1982. Information contained in “The Skinny” has been gathered from various sources. Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter.